Living

ARE you a winning pickle maker? Time to find out for sure. Home canners and amateur chefs are invited to submit their pickles for British Columbia's first pickle contest this fall.

We walked down the wooden boardwalk, through the gate, down a short asphalt path and then suddenly we had entered another world filled with exotic trees, giant climbing vines and towering firs and cedars.

ITALIAN prune plums are plentiful and inexpensive in stores right now. If you have a tree in your yard you'll have bushels of fruit at your disposal. They make great snacks eaten fresh but are also terrific cooked.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! It is September, and I have this peculiar form of dyslexia. I constantly transpose September for January. This has always been the beginning of a new year for me, far more so than January ever is.

The Ambleside Orchestra rehearses Wednesdays, 3: 305: 30 p.m. at Highlands United Church, 3255 Edgemont Blvd., North Vancouver under the direction of Nicolas Krusek. There are opportunities for string players.

AS Vancouver's craftbrewing scene gets more national and international attention, you might think that places like the Alibi Room in Gastown or Central City Brewing in Surrey are the only places to get a good pint in town.

WHEN you are in a pinch to wrap a quick gift, sometimes the best wrapping ideas are sitting right in your own home. Gift wrap doesn't always have to be traditional.

Le Bistro Chez Michel at 224 West Esplanade will have specials of steamed mussels served with fries in a choice of a variety of sauces until Oct. 6 in celebration of the annual Belgian Festival.

ASK any child today about the 3Rs and instead of Reading, 'Riting and 'Rithmatic they are likely to say Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

NORTH Shore residents are invited to attend the 2011 Naturally Autistic International People Awards and Convention, running from Sept. 23 to 25 on the North Shore.